Chapter Summaries

Shen Zhui challenged King Liang, Xia Wudao, for the truth about the Gods and Demons Battlefield while racing to reach the pyramid’s throne. After Shen Zhui’s Yinglong Avatar was struck down by a ghostly force from the throne, Xia Wudao broke through the barrier and entered.

• Shen Zhui repeatedly stabbed Xia Wudao’s Mental Fragment whenever his explanations seemed unreasonable, and Xia Wudao tried to recruit him by revealing that the imperial court had harmed his children and that Great Zhou faced a hidden crisis.
• Xia Wudao strengthened himself with golden dragon-patterned radiance and absorbed power from the barrier while Shen Zhui continued climbing toward the throne.
• At the eight hundred and ninety-second step, Shen Zhui found the pressure too great and summoned his Yinglong Avatar to reach the peak before Xia Wudao could enter.
• A ghostly light erupted from the throne, called Shen Zhui a traitor, pierced the forming Yinglong Avatar, and hurled Shen Zhui down the pyramid with severe injuries.
• Xia Wudao’s golden dragon opened a hole in the barrier, and he stepped inside.

Shen Zhui was captured by King Liang Xia Wudao, who revealed his plan to overturn the existing order and explained the Nine Nether Legion’s origins. The chapter left Shen Zhui learning how the ancient sects united to destroy the Nine Nether Divine Sect and its undying army.

• Shen Zhui briefly escaped Xia Wudao’s spatial restraints with the Merit Barrier, then chose to remain restrained as Xia Wudao climbed the stairs with him and Chanxin.
• Xia Wudao asked Shen Zhui about sects and revealed that he believed Great Zhou’s path would lead to ruin, while Shen Zhui rejected his willingness to sacrifice some people to save others.
• Xia Wudao revealed that the site held the final Nine Nether Legion of the Nine Nether Divine Sect, a force of undying warriors created through the Nine Nether Bell.
• Xia Wudao explained that the Nine Nether Bell revived those killed by the Legion as emotionless, obedient warriors, prompting every other sect to unite against the Nine Nether Divine Sect.
• Xia Wudao told Shen Zhui that the resulting war to eradicate the Nine Nether Divine Sect lasted more than 1,200 years.

Xia Wudao explained how the Nine Nether Divine Sect fell to internal strife and how the Summer Emperor sealed the Nine Nether Bell in the Underworld Underground World. Shen Zhui realized the bell was behind the Seal Gate on the ninety-ninth level, then reached the pyramid’s summit with Xia Wudao.

• Xia Wudao explained that after the Lord of Nine Nether died without naming a successor, rival disciples split the Nine Nether Divine Sect and fought for seven hundred years.
• Xia Wudao said Great Emperor Xia Yu defeated Great Emperor East and Great Emperor Jiu Li, founded the Great Xia Divine Dynasty, and sealed the indestructible Nine Nether Bell rather than destroying it.
• Shen Zhui inferred that the Summer Emperor had hidden the Nine Nether Bell in the Underworld Underground World, and Xia Wudao confirmed that it was behind the ancient gate on the ninety-ninth level.
• Xia Wudao explained that the Summer Emperor made future generations enter the Underworld Underground World to control its growing population of ghosts and strengthen their souls by defeating its creatures.
• Shen Zhui revealed that he had seen the Seal Gate, and Xia Wudao told him that it could only be opened with a key.
• Xia Wudao stopped at the summit, where nine armored ancient corpses knelt around a throne.

Shen Zhui deduced that Xia Wudao needed him to reach the key hidden at the throne, then agreed to enter after Xia Wudao threatened to expose his relationship with Princess Anle. Shen Zhui disguised himself as Xia Jing and crossed the bloodline barrier, but fainted as he activated his Merit Barrier near the throne.

• Shen Zhui concluded that the key required a freely acting soul and a descendant of the Summer Emperor, and Xia Wudao confirmed that Xia Jing had died and been used to open the way.
• Xia Wudao revealed that he had chosen Xia Jing as a disposable agent in the War of Conferring Kings and used a vision of Princess Anle to force Shen Zhui to cooperate.
• Shen Zhui agreed to enter the sealed area, and Xia Wudao swore a Heart Demon Blood Oath not to reveal Princess Anle's confession.
• Xia Wudao activated a bloodline mark, and Shen Zhui used the Formless Divine Skill to imitate Xia Jing as he approached the ancient throne.
• When the bloodline mark stalled near the throne, Shen Zhui activated his Merit Barrier, and the space spun before he fainted.

Shen Zhui awakened on a throne after receiving the Myriad Heart Soul Control Art and the Nine Nether Soul Sword, the key left behind by the Summer Emperor. He mastered the art’s early realms and then wondered how to leave the dark space and remove the sword from his sea of consciousness.

• Shen Zhui dreamed of a radiant world that was consumed by fire, beasts, a black tide, and a rift in the sky before he woke in darkness.
• A beam of light revealed Shen Zhui seated on a throne with a short sword in his hand, whose runes entered his mind and became the Nine Nether Soul Sword.
• Shen Zhui learned that the sword carried the Myriad Heart Soul Control Art, a secret art for controlling Demonic Beasts and potentially creating undying souls when paired with the Nine Nether Bell.
• Shen Zhui studied the art’s realms and quickly mastered its first two layers and parts of the third, while recognizing that the higher realms required heart force and immense Spiritual Sense amplification.
• Shen Zhui found that the Nine Nether Soul Sword stayed in his sea of consciousness and showed disdain when he approached it, then realized he had no idea how to leave the throne room.

Shen Zhui escaped the pyramid with the Eternal Key and revived Xia Jing as his Soul Servant, learning secrets about King Liang’s plans from his memories. After staging Xia Jing’s death to conceal his survival, Shen Zhui waited as a True God descended.

• Shen Zhui was pulled from the ancient throne when he transformed into Xia Jing and activated the Merit Barrier, and Xia Wudao told him to bring the Eternal Key to Liangzhou.
• Xia Wudao left Xia Jing dying, but Shen Zhui used the Myriad Heart Soul Control Art and Medical Sacred Word to revive him as a loyal Soul Servant.
• Shen Zhui searched Xia Jing’s memories and learned which generals and agents were loyal to King Liang’s Estate or had betrayed it.
• Shen Zhui escaped the pyramid and Gods and Demons Battlefield, keeping Xia Jing hidden while he returned toward the outer region.
• Shen Zhui staged Xia Jing’s death with an attack from the God Annihilation Cannon, then waited in hiding as a True God descended.

After killing Xia Jing, Shen Zhui convinced King Jin Cang and King Xu Ye that the death was a misunderstanding, then returned to Qingyang Gate. Cang Song planned to bring him into the Supreme Cave Heaven as his adopted son, leaving Shen Zhui to warn Shui Qingrou that he needed to return to the Great Zhou soon.

• King Jin Cang and King Xu Ye questioned Shen Zhui about Xia Jing’s death, but Cang Song’s divine sense fragment intervened and helped present it as a misunderstanding.
• Cang Song dismissed Shen Zhui’s role in killing Xia Jing and promised him another gift, while Shen Zhui decided to leave the Nether Sea Secret Realm.
• On February twenty-fifth, Shen Zhui returned to Qingyang Gate, where Cang Song offered to send him into the Supreme Cave Heaven for three years and adopt him as his heir.
• Shen Zhui told Shui Qingrou that Xia Jing had betrayed 392 spies from the two Cave Heavens, though he had initially handed over information on only 121, and confirmed that the others were relatively safe.
• Shen Zhui told Shui Qingrou to inform Marquis Wu'an that Cang Song planned to make him an adopted son and direct successor, prompting her astonishment.

Shen Zhui reached the peak of the Divine Ability Realm after training in the Sanctuary of Judgment and gained four more Seven Absolute Heavens treasures, then joined the response to a realm-wide uprising by Great Zhou’s covert agents. As he used the chaos to expand Qingyang Gate’s territory, Marquis Wu’an and his forces gathered at the border and received a sacred edict.

• Shen Zhui told Shui Qingrou he would not enter the Supreme Cave Heaven and later went to Arbitration City to train and help Chánxin refine treasures.
• After a hundred days of accelerated time, Shen Zhui reached peak Divine Ability, mastered Thunder Dragon Descent, and gained the Innate Exotic Fire Bead, Cold Spirit Weak Water River, Tree of Life, and Demon Subduing Sword.
• Great Zhou’s covert agents rose up across the Six Great Cave Heavens, and Supreme Holy Envoy Cang Song ordered Shen Zhui to deploy his eighteen Venerable-level Soul Servants to quell the rebellions.
• Shen Zhui and Fang Ziyou planned to exploit the unrest to expand Qingyang Gate’s territory, and Shen Zhui sent his Soul Servants to attack a rebellious city.
• Marquis Wu’an Zhao Xing assembled more than forty Venerables and a million soldiers at the Liang Kingdom border, where a sacred edict descended and called him to hear it.

Shen Zhui exploited the Six Great Cave Heavens’ turmoil to plunder Pure Heart Sect territories until Holy Envoy Cang Song warned him that the Sect Alliance was watching for powerful spies. As war mobilized both sides, Shen Zhui reached the front lines and secretly contacted Changsun Gu with an important matter.

• The Human Emperor appointed Marquis Wu'an Great General Who Pacifies the West and ordered a million troops to invade the Nine Nether Realm.
• Shen Zhui attacked Zhiyou City, destroyed its defenses, and killed Wuyouzi while his forces looted the city.
• Cang Song ordered Shen Zhui to stop plundering and explained that reincarnated True God-level spies could be hidden within the Great Zhou.
• The Sect Alliance conscripted cultivators and sent its forces to the Great Thousand World as the three Martial Marquises advanced across the Canglan River.
• Shen Zhui reached the front lines aboard the Dragon Roc Warship, spotted Changsun Gu, and sent him a secret message asking to talk.

Shen Zhui provoked Changsun Gu into suspecting Mei Qing and Meng Wushang of killing Changsun Qiu, then arranged for rumors of an impending ambush to reach them. As Shen Zhui prepared to leave with Shen Xinlan and avoid the Guiyuan Sect, Qingyang Gate received a suspicious defensive assignment, and the Tian Jue Sect summoned Shen Zhui to discuss it.

• Shen Zhui falsely accused Mei Qing and Meng Wushang of murdering Changsun Qiu, prompting Changsun Gu to dispatch someone after considering the accusation and its supposed evidence.
• Shen Zhui told a subordinate to spread word that Changsun Gu planned to ambush Mei Qing and Meng Wushang, then agreed to take Shen Xinlan with him and spare the Guiyuan Sect.
• Shen Zhui decided against attacking the Guiyuan Sect and waited for a better target and opportunity.
• Puyangzi informed Shen Zhui that Qingyang Gate had been assigned to help the Tian Jue Sect and Pure Heart Sect defend the line from Black Tortoise Mountain to Cold Crow Mountain.
• A Tian Jue Sect disciple summoned Shen Zhui and the Pure Heart Sect Master to Tian Jue Fort to discuss the defenses.

Shen Zhui took Qingyang Gate to defend Xuan Gui City, where the Pure Heart Sect tried to seize control of his people by ordering them reassigned. He crushed the sect's envoy and other attackers, then claimed they were spies and took their possessions, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Shen Zhui delayed Tian Jue Sect's summons twice before accepting its order for Qingyang Gate to guard the defense line east of Xuan Gui City.
• Shen Zhui led Qingyang Gate to Xuan Gui City and deployed its people along the defenses.
• A Pure Heart Sect force arrived and ordered Qingyang Gate to obey its command and disperse and reassign its personnel.
• Shen Zhui refused, and the Pure Heart Sect general accused him of colluding with Great Zhou and ordered his capture.
• Shen Zhui's Cave Heaven World overwhelmed the attackers, and he crushed Yu Ming Shan's limbs while his Soul Servants blocked the other experts.
• Shen Zhui forcibly opened the Cave Heaven Worlds of Yu Ming Shan and two Purple-robed Daoists, then seized their treasures while claiming he would inspect them for evidence of spying.

Shen Zhui learned that Tian Jue Sect and Pure Heart Sect were maneuvering to protect their own forces and shift blame for a likely defeat onto Qingyang Gate. He led Qingyang Gate to Sha Hai Mountain to intercept Lan Hai’s force, where the small contingent sent by Tian Jue Sect left the three leaders facing an awkward standoff.

• Shen Zhui forced the White-faced Scholar to hand over a frontline battle report, then returned the three captured elders with their limbs shattered after secretly enslaving them.
• Shen Zhui explained that Tian Jue Sect was distracted by Lan Hai’s powerful force and might be preparing to make Qingyang Gate and Pure Heart Sect scapegoats for a failed defense.
• Puyangzi ordered every Qingyang Gate expert of Seventh-tier Divine Ability or above to join Pure Heart Sect in intercepting Lan Hai, and Shen Zhui agreed after securing useful intelligence from the inspector.
• Shen Zhui brought Qingyang Gate’s experts to Sha Hai Mountain, where the White-faced Scholar’s twenty-five Venerables and Bian Nan’s Tian Jue Sect group joined them.
• Bian Nan called for a fight to the death, but Shen Zhui and the White-faced Scholar noticed Tian Jue Sect had sent only four Venerables, and the leaders fell silent.

Shen Zhui secured five Ghost Fire Tokens by volunteering Qingyang Gate for dangerous formation duties, then detected Lan Chenguang’s approaching force and warned him of the ambush at Sha Hai Mountain. Lan Chenguang recognized Shen Zhui, and the two began discussing how to respond.

• Bian Nan explained the Earth Fiend Lungfire Great Formation and distributed five Ghost Fire Tokens to Shen Zhui after he offered Qingyang Gate’s help.
• Shen Zhui and his Soul Servants took positions in the formation, while Lan Chenguang led fifty Qingzhou Army experts toward Shanhai Pass.
• Shen Zhui used seven avatars and the Heavenly Eyes and Earthly Ears formation to detect the concealed Qingzhou Army and draw its attention with a faint warning.
• Lan Chenguang’s group found Shen Zhui’s avatar, and Shen Zhui revealed that fifty Venerables, including one Fourth-tier Venerable, were waiting in an ambush.
• Lan Chenguang recognized Shen Zhui as Great Shu Chang of Pingyang Pass and asked for his advice.

Shen Zhui and Lan Chenguang devised a plan to turn the ambush at Sha Hai Mountain against Tian Jue Sect and expose a spy in the Qingzhou Army. After Lan Chenguang’s forces entered the formation, the battle erupted in confusion, with Shen Zhui framing the White-faced Scholar as a traitor and both sides fighting to escape.

• Shen Zhui revealed that Lan Feng was a spy, and Lan Chenguang’s men captured him after finding Tian Jue Sect’s token and payment in his Storage Ring.
• Lan Chenguang had Lan Feng interrogated, confirmed his betrayal, and ordered him executed before preparing his troops for battle.
• Shen Zhui recovered his divine power while Lan Chenguang led his force into the Earth Fiend Lungfire Great Formation.
• Bian Nan activated the formation, but Shen Zhui’s allies redirected the flames from twenty-one formation cores against Tian Jue Sect and the Pure Heart Sect.
• Lan Chenguang’s troops attacked amid the confusion as Shen Zhui accused the White-faced Scholar of treachery, and the White-faced Scholar ordered his people to leave the formation cores and fight their way out.

Shen Zhui fought the Pure Heart Sect forces inside the collapsing Earth Fiend Lungfire Great Formation, defeating five Second-tier Venerables and turning three into Soul Servants before driving off the White-faced Scholar with a Ghost Fire Token. He then joined Lan Chenguang in confronting Bian Nan and summoned Bee Emperor and Snow Fox to strike through Bian Nan’s defenses.

• Shen Zhui attacked the White-faced Scholar with his enhanced Falling Snow Saber Technique while the battle raged inside the out-of-control formation.
• The White-faced Scholar sent Qing Yi and four other Second-tier Venerables to surround Shen Zhui, who used his clones and Origin Domain to withstand their combined sword formation.
• Shen Zhui invoked Yansheng Mountain, broke the five Venerables’ defenses, and used Time Reversal and his Myriad Heart Soul Control art to enslave three of them.
• Shen Zhui fired a Ghost Fire Token at the White-faced Scholar, poisoning and incapacitating him, while Lan Chenguang’s forces pursued the retreating Pure Heart Sect members.
• Shen Zhui returned to Lan Chenguang and revealed himself to Bian Nan, then summoned Bee Emperor and Snow Fox to pierce Bian Nan’s formation-artifact defenses with Bee Emperor Sting.

Shen Zhui and Lan Chenguang planned to destroy the Sect Alliance’s teleportation formation at Shanhai Pass by using the controlled Bian Nan to get past its defenses. Their ruse brought a far larger force than expected, led by the Fifth-tier Venerable Changsun Gu.

• Snow Fox and the Golden Cup Bee Emperor weakened Bian Nan, allowing Shen Zhui to control him as a servant.
• Shen Zhui and Lan Chenguang discussed their losses and planned a surprise attack on Shanhai Pass using Bian Nan’s status to enter the city.
• Shen Zhui’s group disguised themselves as members of the Pure Heart Sect and approached Shanhai Pass aboard Bian Nan’s Night Owl Warship.
• Bian Nan persuaded Bone Daoist to report their arrival, but the defenders emerged in force, revealing that Shanhai Pass had been heavily reinforced.
• Shen Zhui recognized Changsun Gu of the Corpse Puppet Sect, a Fifth-tier Venerable, among the defenders.

Shen Zhui recognized Changsun Gu’s arrival as a corpse puppet clone and persuaded him to let Bian Nan’s group enter Shanhai Pass by appealing to his plan to capture Mei Qing. Once inside, Shen Zhui waited for Lan Chenguang’s people to locate the teleportation array’s core, intending to destroy it, and prepared to use his Merit Points to develop a fifth saber form.

• Shen Zhui used the Eye of Insight to discover that the approaching Changsun Gu was a Fourth-tier Venerable corpse puppet clone, not Changsun Gu’s true body.
• Changsun Gu refused Bian Nan’s request to enter Shanhai Pass, so Shen Zhui privately revealed that he understood Changsun Gu was lying in wait for Mei Qing.
• Shen Zhui advised Changsun Gu to stop antagonizing Bian Nan’s group and conceal his intentions so Mei Qing would not become wary, then offered to mediate between them.
• Changsun Gu relented, and Shen Zhui and the others entered Shanhai Pass aboard the Night Owl Warship.
• Lan Chenguang’s people began searching for the teleportation array’s core while Shen Zhui checked his Merit Points and planned to create the fifth form of his saber technique.

Shen Zhui created the fifth form of the Falling Snow Saber Technique, Breakthrough Illusion, and his comprehension of the Metal Rule triggered his transformation toward the Venerable realm. He formed a Metal Heart of the World and expanded his Cave Heaven, but Chanxin pointed out that his transformation was incomplete and urged him to check whether his clone could reach the Venerable Level.

• Shen Zhui experimented with blade forms until sudden enlightenment helped him create Breakthrough Illusion, a stroke powerful enough to destroy the training room's formation.
• Changsun Gu recognized the strength of Shen Zhui's new technique, and Shen Zhui named it Breakthrough Illusion before moving to another training room.
• Shen Zhui sensed his Origin Mansion changing after comprehending the Metal Rule, and Chanxin explained that he could advance even though the second layer of the Seven Absolute Heavens was unfinished.
• Shen Zhui stopped suppressing his realm, drew power from Ciyun Venerable's Twin World Heart, and formed a Metal Heart of the World as his Cave Heaven expanded from six million li to ten million li.
• Chanxin called Shen Zhui half a Venerable and told him to check whether his clone could reach the Venerable Level.

Shen Zhui rejected the easier route to Venerablehood and formed a second Heart of the World, greatly increasing his power. He then ordered Lan Chenguang to destroy the array cores at Shanhai Pass, and the Stone Door began to fail as explosions struck.

• Zenheart explained how Hearts of the World granted Venerable power and warned Shen Zhui against using the secret art World Attraction.
• Shen Zhui chose to pursue multiple Hearts of the World and formed a Thunder Origin Mark using energy from Ciyun Venerable's Twin World Hearts.
• Shen Zhui's Thunder Origin Mark transformed into a second Heart of the World, expanding his Cave Heaven to fifteen million li and strengthening his Rule Power.
• Shen Zhui decided to postpone forming more Hearts of the World and focus on his assassination mission and military merit.
• Shen Zhui ordered Lan Chenguang to act despite Changsun Gu's presence, and the array cores around Shanhai Pass were destroyed in a series of explosions.
• The Stone Door lost much of its mist, tilted, and stopped operating.

Shen Zhui sabotaged the teleportation array and attacked Changsun Gu, trying to keep him from supporting the defenses while spinning a story that Cang Song had ordered his death. Changsun Gu resisted Shen Zhui’s formidable techniques and summoned a giant blood god as the fight continued amid the array’s destruction.

• Lan Chenguang’s Imperial Guards destroyed the teleportation array, throwing the city into chaos as Changsun Gu and the other Venerables rushed to respond.
• Shen Zhui ambushed Changsun Gu with the Celestial Pivot Dragon Vein Sword and falsely claimed that Cang Song wanted him dead, using Changsun Qiu’s life-bound coffin to provoke him.
• Changsun Gu attacked with blood threads and suppressed Shen Zhui with his Cave Heaven World, but Shen Zhui’s own world projection held firm and his clones defeated or trapped the Corpse Puppet Battle Generals.
• As the Stone Door cracked further, Changsun Gu feared the array’s destruction would be used as an excuse to kill him and summoned the Corpse God, Boundless Sea of Blood.
• Shen Zhui retreated and activated the Blood Origin Divine Armor, Purple-Gold Crown, and Golden Chainmail to defend against Changsun Gu’s giant blood form.